Plot Synopsis

Created by Simon Blackwell, BREEDERS is a half-hour comedy series that exposes the parental-paradox that it is possible, in the very same moment, to love your child to the horizon of the universe, while being apoplectically angry enough to want to send them there. Paul is a caring father discovering he's not quite the man he thought he was. His partner in this impossibly steep parental climb is Ally, who runs a recording studio, makes Paul laugh and has the ability to read a story to their children while she's technically asleep. In this honest and uncompromising comedy, Paul and Ally are juggling full-time careers, aging parents, a mortgage, upheavals in their relationship and the unenviable curveballs of parenting their young children, Luke and Ava. When Ally's estranged father Michael appears on their doorstep, the family essentially takes on a third child -- but this one comes with baggage and opinions. Paul's own parents, Jackie and Jim, are on hand to help out, but their generation does parenting a little differently.

BREEDERS premiered on Monday, March 2, 2020 from 10-11:15pm ET/PT on FX, as the cable channel debuted two episodes. In the series opener, the children won't sleep -- Paul and Ally thought these nights were over. Paul spends the night fighting his own anger and his children's inability to go the f**k to sleep. Written by Simon Blackwell; directed by Ben Palmer. In the second half hour, Luke's parents evening and the surprise arrival of Ally's estranged father cause Paul and Ally to examine their hopes and dreams for Luke and Ava and discover how far they are willing to go for the sake of their children.

The sophomore season of BREEDERS premiered on Monday, March 22, 2021 from 10-11pm ET/PT, with back-to-back new episodes on FX. The kids are growing up fast -- Ava is now 10 and Luke is about to turn 13. With their burgeoning independence comes the question of whether Paul and Ally's parenting style still works. Clue: no. Then, Luke's anxiety is becoming a problem at home and school. Would a medical diagnosis make his life easier or harder? Ally faces further tension after her mother Leah is robbed.

Season 3 of BREEDERS premiered on Monday, May 9, 2022 from 10-11pm ET/PT, as FX debuted back-to-back new episodes. Season 3 starts days after Season 2 ended, as the Worsley family reels from teenaged Luke punching his dad, Paul. Paul's moved out and is staying at his mother-in-law Leah's house. He should be lonely but actually the simpler life has its appeal. Eventually, though, amends with Luke must be made. Meanwhile Ally has her own problems -- with work, with her early menopause and with her increasingly strained relationship with her newly adolescent daughter, Ava. Gallows humor and large glasses of wine only go so far in quelling the angst.

The 10-episode fourth and final season of BREEDERS premiered with back-to-back episodes on Monday, July 31, 2023 from 10-11:07pm ET/PT on FX. One new episode then debuts weekly on Mondays at 10pm. Five years have passed since the Worsley family were caught up in the dramatic events at the end of Season 3. Paul and Ally were on the verge of splitting up, Jim and Jackie were in turmoil, Luke was finding a new relationship, and Ava was mending an old one. Season 4 brings the biggest parenting challenge that Paul and Ally have ever faced, as 18-year-old Luke drops a bombshell at Christmas dinner that will change everyone's lives forever. No longer in Luke's shadow, 16-year-old Ava experiences her own bombshell moment as she meets and immediately falls for the charismatic Holly. Paul and Ally continue to try, fail and try again as they face these latest parenting challenges, while also having to support the increasingly troubled Jim and Jackie.
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On Monday, September 25, 2023 at 10pm ET/P, FX premiered "No Matter What (Part 2)," the series finale of BREEDERS. Jackie's health is continuing to worsen; Paul helps out a distressed Luke but finds himself in more conflict with Ally; at Baby Jay's naming party, Ava declares her love, and Paul makes an offer that will take him and Ally back in time.